The Government is proposing building owners strengthen earthquake-prone buildings within the next 15 years so that by 2028, we will be much safer if another major quake strikes.

Some of New Zealand's historic buildings are about to be hit by a multibillion-dollar bombshell, as the Government forces their strengthening, experts claim.

Scientists predict an earthquake swarm rattling the east coast of the North Island could continue for days.

New Zealand cities must capitalise on Christchurch's earthquake experience if they are to make themselves more resilient to natural disasters, a top quake expert says.

Shops and bars will open in downtown Christchurch next month for the first time since the February 22 earthquake two years ago.

Work in post-disaster Christchurch has officially swung from recovery and demolition to rebuild, the Government said today.

A supervolcano forming north of New Zealand could spell the end of the world - but there is no need to panic, it won't happen for at least 100 million years.

Most of the debris has been cleared and repairs have begun, but residents of a tornado-ravaged Auckland street have long gone.

Anne Bolland wept yesterday as swirling brown floodwaters advanced on her home in the low-lying Brisbane suburb of Milton.

Thousands of homes are underwater in Queensland and New South Wales as ex-tropical cyclone Oswald beats a devastating path down the coast, leaving authorities to prepare for another day of evacuations while floodwaters have already isolated hundreds of homes.

Christchurch's Cindy Gibb made a deal with her husband - one day she'd be able to travel the world to places where nursing skills were in short supply and work.

Queensland is gripped in another extraordinary flood crisis, as cities and towns across the state go under.

As cooler weather eased firefighting in Victoria and the nation celebrated Australia Day yesterday, a new disaster was declared in Queensland.

While firefighters yesterday continued to battle huge blazes in Victoria, floods swept through Queensland, shutting down roads, railways and airports as former cyclone Oswald inundated coastal regions.

Firefighters were "planning for the worst" last night as a huge scrub fire burned across Great Barrier Island, forcing the evacuation of homes, businesses and a medical centre.

The past few years have not been great for those in the business of predicting natural disasters, writes Chris De Freitas. Think of the doomsday forecasts of Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping and that of the much hyped Mayan calendar.

Farmers and conservationists are bracing for the effects of the bushfires still raging down the eastern states.

This year has seen dizzying highs, devastating lows, Mother Nature at her most furious, a mesmerising court case and panic as Marmite production ceased.

Kim Dotcom and a spate of natural disasters have been among the most popular topics with New Zealand Herald readers this year.

A state of natural disaster has been declared for 15 days in Fiji as the Pacific nation begins the clean-up in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Evan

Further New Zealand support for cyclone-battered Samoa and Fiji has been announced, bringing the combined total to $820,000 so far.

Samoans in New Zealand are still anxiously waiting to hear how their loved ones fared after Cyclone Evan hit.

Two ships were grounded and houses thrown through the air as winds of up to 270km/h uprooted trees and homes force hit Fiji during Tropical Cyclone Evan.